Cipla Announces the Launch of Generic Drug Sofosbuvir in India Under the Brand Name Hepcvir
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Cipla has announced the launch of generic drug Sofosbuvir in India under the brand name ‘Hepcvir’.
Following the non-exclusive licensing agreement signed with Gilead Sciences in September last year, to manufacture and market chronic hepatitis C medicines, Cipla is now all set to make the drug Sofosbuvir available to Indian patients in a week’s time.
Sofosbuvir is the first-in-class NS5B polymerase inhibitor to be launched in India for hepatitis C treatment and represents a paradigm shift in the existing hepatitis C management. The high potency, high barrier to resistance, pangenotypic activity, once-daily dosage, good safety profile and the limited drug-drug interactions of sofosbuvir makes it a breakthrough drug in hepatitis C treatment. This drug in combination therapy has shown to have high cure rates of around 90%.
In India, it is estimated that 12–18 million patients are infected with Hepatitis C, which is several fold greater than those with HIV/AIDS. Globally, HCV is implicated in 28% of cases of liver cirrhosis and 26% of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, which accounts for almost 500,000 deaths per year.
Commenting on the launch of Hepcvir, Mr Subhanu Saxena, Global CEO, Cipla said: “Cipla has always brought accessible and affordable medicines to fight against diseases like AIDS and Hepatitis B and is a leader in India with anti-virals; hence, Cipla has made it a priority to bring Hepcvir to patients in India, as well as the other developing nations.”
Dr Jaideep Gogtay, Chief Medical Officer, Cipla said: “The benefits of Hepcvir will be felt by patients who will have much lower discomfort while on the treatment and therefore much higher levels of adherence. Sofusbuvir marks a new era of medicines in oral treatment of Hepatitis C which reduce the need for injectibles. It is hoped that in the future these drugs will eventually mean a totally oral regimen.”
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